Originally Posted by DeadHead

I think it's not so much a matter of "basic airmanship" or being a better pilot, but I do think that our predecessors in some ways faced alot more challenges then we do today.

Technology has improved to the point where it has made cockpit management more efficient, cleaner, and user-friendly. Pilots who first flew airliners did not have the years of technology advancement, accident/incident investigations, and human factors research behind them.
These pilots had to think on the feet with technology that was no where as near as reliable at it is today.

In the long run, I think it's apples and oranges, I think as far as cockpit management on behalf of technological advancement has come, managing resources can be as difficult as mismanaging the resources.
Bottom line, I never placed much stock the better pilots flew this plane versus that plane argument, the way I see it you can have a bad pilot or a good one in any plane.